Grace VanderWaal Shares New Single, Music Video “Waste My Time”
Photo by Anna Ottum
Precocious singer-songwriter Grace VanderWaal first vaulted into fame with her preternaturally soulful vocals and ukelele playing as a 12-year-old auditioning for America’s Got Talent. Now, at 15, she’s now trying to establish an identity for herself as a songwriter with sedate, romantic pop that channels adult-contemporary greats like Yuna.
Her new single, “Waste My Time,” skirts around youthful puppy love cliches to focus on the joys of doing nothing in particular with someone you love. VanderWaal sings “I just wanna waste your time / We can do anything you like” on the wistful chorus, her unusually deep vocals and mature poise a contrast to her actual age. In her rain-slicked music video for the track (dir. Blythe Thomas), VanderWaal cavorts around a convenience store with a mannequin.
In a statement, VanderWaal describes the song as “an ode to being young, living in the moment and not worrying about the big picture. This song is me saying ‘I don’t care’ and a particular someone or something can be worth wasting my time on.”
“Waste My Time” follows “Ur So Beautiful,” a similarly smooth single released earlier this summer. VanderWaal kicks off her “Ur So Beautiful Tour” on Aug. 10 in Lexington, Ky.